MZed recently reached out to me and asked me to attend and review Shane Hurlbut’s Illumination Experience Tour. I have always admired and respected Shane for his skill and willingness to share knowledge with filmmakers, so I gladly jumped on the opportunity. I had attended MZed’s Directing Motion Tour with Vincent Laforet so I was expecting something great, but had no idea how incredible Shane’s Chicago tour stop would be.

I’m not going to share a ton of Shane’s content here because you need to see it for yourself. But I will give you ten reasons why you should check out Shane’s Illumination Experience.

1. Shane is the Real Deal

There are thousands of workshops and training tours out there for filmmakers. Some good, some terrible, but NONE by a real successful and active Hollywood cinematographer. Shane has done something really ballsy, and that is to share information that others in Hollywood wouldn’t dare give out.

You won’t find anything like the Illumination Experience so don’t miss your opportunity to see it.

2. Shane Will Make You Laugh

You won’t smile, you won’t giggle, you’ll bust a gut all day long. I had not laughed that hard, that long, in ages. Shane and his team won’t only teach and train, they’ll entertain you through the entire experience. I attended the Illumination Experience in Chicago, which was Shane’s 15th stop on the tour, but you wouldn’t have been able to tell. He was lit up with excitement, vigor and humor the entire day.

3. “Golden Nuggets”

Throughout the event Shane will occasionally say “and here is another golden nugget for you guys” when he does this, prepare to hear something that will change your filmmaking for the better.

4. Budget Friendly

One of my favorite parts of the event was when Shane showed how to light a complex scene with home depot items under $200. Nothing like watching a seasoned Hollywood cinematographer get excited about shower curtains!

5. All About Story

To Shane, every bit of light and shadow conveys an emotion and tells a story. During the event he shows you how to sculpt a story with lighting no matter the shot or project.

6. Not Camera Specific

If you shoot on a DSLR, C300 or even a Blackmagic camera system you’ll learn a lot about your camera. Even though this event is based on lighting, Shane spends a lot of time talking about how different cameras react to lighting and certain settings.

7. Light is Everything

Without light there would be no film. So why do we waste so much time ignoring it or not studying it furiously? If you’re like me and you know more about camera tech than lighting, you need to get your hands on the Illumination Experience and start diving into lighting for motion.

8. More Than Just Lighting

While teaching you about lighting, Shane covers so many other topics along the way. You will learn about grip gear, set etiquette, crew communication, framing, 4K uses, lens choice and so much more.

9. TONS of Gear

All other MZed events look like child’s play compared to the massive gear arsenal Shane Hurlbut commands on the Illumination Experience. Next to working on a Hollywood set, you won’t find another workshop that will show you this much gear.

10. You Get to Download the Event

As part of the Illumination Experience, you will be able to download a recording of the event and if you didn’t attend, you can still get a copy here. I love that MZed offers this so we can revisit and continue to study lighting after the event. Check out the available Illumination Experience downloads here.

Again, there is only one weekend left (starting tomorrow) but if you can’t make it, you can still get the event as an HD download. Keep an eye on MZed’s website to see what tours are going on or starting soon.